Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the extent to which maintenance loans cover the cost of housing for students in England.

The government measures student housing costs periodically but does not collect data annually. The Student Income and Expenditure Survey in 2014/15 reported average housing costs of £4,151 for full-time undergraduates who incurred those costs. The Student Income and Expenditure Survey in 2011/12 reported average housing costs of £3,628 for full-time undergraduates who incurred them.

The student finance system contributes towards undergraduate students’ living costs at University, with the most support available for students from the lowest income families. The government increased maximum loans for living costs by 2.8% for the current academic year, 2019/20, to £8,944 for students living away from home and studying outside London with a further 2.9% increase to £9,203 for 2020/21. Higher rates of loan are available for students living away from home and studying in London.